Warriors Take Game 1

Game 1 of the NBA Finals didn't go as planned for the Cleveland Cavaliers as the Golden State Warriors had their way despite average night's from their superstars Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. The Warriors won 104-89 behind great play from their bench players, as Shaun Livingston came off the pine and racked up 20 points.

"You don't win championships without the entire squad coming in and making an impact on games," Curry said. "That's why we're here."

The Warriors bench outscored the Cavaliers bench 45-10; the biggest point differential for the Warriors bench all season.

"We play a lot of people, and we feel like we have a lot of talent on the bench that can come in and score when we need it," coach Steve Kerr said. "So it's a great sign, obviously, that we can win in the finals without those two guys having big games, but it's not really that surprising to us. This has been our team the last couple of years."

Kerr had a bit of a moment himself as he chopped a clipboard in half because of his displeasure with his team coming out of the half.

"Destruction tends to ease some of the anger," the coach of the year said. "So I try to take it out on a clipboard instead of a player. So it's better that way."

Lebron James seemed to be the only player on the Cavaliers to play to his potential. An assist shy of a triple-double, James was able to have his way at times, however, Warriors forward Andre Iguodala had his number on defense, altering a number of James' shots. James finished 1-for-2 with 2 points as Iguodala as his primary defender (22 possessions; most of any player).

"When you get outscored 45-10 on the bench and give up 25 points off 17 turnovers, no matter what someone does or doesn't do, it's going to be hard to win, especially on the road," James said. "Don't matter what you do with Steph and Klay, don't matter what you do with Draymond."

The Warriors now look to get a commanding lead on the Cavaliers as the teams face off on Sunday in Oracle Arena. Teams that win Game 1 of the NBA Finals by 15 points are 11-2 all-time, so the odds are in the favor of the defending champs.